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OK, I really want to go with the hc4000, but I am afraid that the lens shift is gonna bite me and I will not be able to swing it. So this is for myt basement and I have a drop ceiling but it only goes up to about 93", i have plenty of room going back but not up. I am wanting to go with at least 100 inch diagonal screen...but according to the mits site, that would put the screen almost on the ground...and I would like it at least 24" from the floor. ANyone have any thoughts??? Thanks...

If you can mount the bottom on the HC4000 at 93", according to the mits calculator the bottom of a 100" screen will be 23.9" above the floor... Describe your 93" drop ceiling...

True for a ceiling, but he said the 93" height is a "drop" ceiling, and if his definition of a drop ceiling is the same as mine it could be very easy to do...

Thanks for the reply, 93" is to the bottom of th joists, ceiling tile, pushed back. Now the joists are running in my favor and I could prolly mount it in between my joists but not sure how much higher I can go before the lens would be hitting the ceiling tile, in other words not sure from top of the projector to the lens...just re-read your post...yeah if 93" for th bottom then I think that would be a no go...uggggg....

Tilt the projector and use keystone. I use 8 steps of it in my setup without any negative effects.

I could get away without keystone in my setup if I lowered my screen a bit. But l have not got around to re-arranging the furniture to accommodate that. I am probably using less that 8 steps, but do not notice any negative effects on a 120 inch screen. By the way, the Superbowl was awesome at that scale.

Yes, it is best to avoid using digital keystone adjustment if you can. Particularly if you would require large amounts of adjustment. But a modest amount does not seem to be an issue for me.

Thanks for the reply, 93" is to the bottom of th joists, ceiling tile, pushed back. Now the joists are running in my favor and I could prolly mount it in between my joists but not sure how much higher I can go before the lens would be hitting the ceiling tile, in other words not sure from top of the projector to the lens...just re-read your post...yeah if 93" for th bottom then I think that would be a no go...uggggg....

When I said "bottom" I am referring to the projector's actual bottom side, with it being inverted (upside down) the bottom of the projector becomes the highest point...So if the "bottom" is mounted at 93", the lens center will be at about 89-1/2" and the top will be at about 88"... What is the height of your ceiling tile?

When I said "bottom" I am referring to the projector's actual bottom side, with it being inverted (upside down) the bottom of the projector becomes the highest point...So if the "bottom" is mounted at 93", the lens center will be at about 89-1/2" and the top will be at about 88"... What is the height of your ceiling tile?

lol,crap I never thought about mounting it upside down, that just may work...so 93" is above my ceiling tile, its about 89-90" to the ceiling tile. I can always mount it part of the way recessed since my joists are running parallel to screen I could mount it just to the point where the lens is just below the ceiling tile but I am wondering where that would place the bottom of my screen. Hmmm...more to think about i was leaning towards going with the epson 8350 for eas of setup..but the mits was my first choice....so do they make attachemnts and mounts to mount it upside down like that?

If you're ceiling mounting you HAVE to mount it upside down. The fixed offset of this PJ always shoots the image upward (when upright), and of course downward when inverted. This allows for upright table mounting (shooting image upward) and easy inverted ceiling mounting.

With a drop ceiling there isn't really any reason that you can't mount the PJ slightly recessed into one of the ceiling tiles slots. Take one of the tiles out, use a ceiling mount (bought or DIY), mount the PJ so that you can adjust the height to below the drop ceiling and slightly above it. Remember that since the image is projected downward, you can probably get away with mounting the PJ above the actual drop ceiling height. The further away you mount the PJ lens from the lip of the drop ceiling (on a horizontal plane) the further recessed you can mount the PJ. So if your ceiling tiles are say 2x2ft, you would want to mount the PJ so that the back of the PJ is almost touching the rear of that 2x2 hole.

The only thing I would maybe worry about is the cooling of the PJ if you close off the hole the PJ is mounted in, like by making a spacer for your ceiling tile to move it up 6-12", etc., because heat rises and it would just kinda sit in that recessed boxed area. Maybe cut out cooling holes in the recessed box and over the holes up with louvers (like on a central air wall/ceiling duct).

If you're ceiling mounting you HAVE to mount it upside down. The fixed offset of this PJ always shoots the image upward (when upright), and of course downward when inverted. This allows for upright table mounting (shooting image upward) and easy inverted ceiling mounting.

With a drop ceiling there isn't really any reason that you can't mount the PJ slightly recessed into one of the ceiling tiles slots. Take one of the tiles out, use a ceiling mount (bought or DIY), mount the PJ so that you can adjust the height to below the drop ceiling and slightly above it. Remember that since the image is projected downward, you can probably get away with mounting the PJ above the actual drop ceiling height. The further away you mount the PJ lens from the lip of the drop ceiling (on a horizontal plane) the further recessed you can mount the PJ. So if your ceiling tiles are say 2x2ft, you would want to mount the PJ so that the back of the PJ is almost touching the rear of that 2x2 hole.

The only thing I would maybe worry about is the cooling of the PJ if you close off the hole the PJ is mounted in, like by making a spacer for your ceiling tile to move it up 6-12", etc., because heat rises and it would just kinda sit in that recessed boxed area. Maybe cut out cooling holes in the recessed box and over the holes up with louvers (like on a central air wall/ceiling duct).

Yeah I dont think cooling is and issue since the joist run front to back, so can someone give me the demension from bottom of the projector to the lens how many inches is that so I can get a better idea about how high I can mount before the lens is at the ceiling tile....thanks.

Yeah I dont think cooling is and issue since the joist run front to back, so can someone give me the demension from bottom of the projector to the lens how many inches is that so I can get a better idea about how high I can mount before the lens is at the ceiling tile....thanks.

It's 3.6" from the center line of the lens to the bottom of the PJ. I figured it out by just adding the screen top edge height + offset = height of lens centerline minus the height of the the PJ bottom. It's all there on the Mits PJ calculator http://global.mitsubishielectric.com....html?p=hc4000

Plus that view on the PJ calculator should give you an idea of how the image is projected downward and how you can probably recess the PJ a little into the Ceiling.

bishopt -- All projectors have their mounting screw holes on the "bottom" of the units. For ceiling mounting, they all have to be positioned "upside-down". There is a selection in the menu, to "invert" the image, for ceiling mounting.

Yeah I dont think cooling is and issue since the joist run front to back, so can someone give me the demension from bottom of the projector to the lens how many inches is that so I can get a better idea about how high I can mount before the lens is at the ceiling tile....thanks.

Hi All – I am building a shelf for a projector on top of a soffit which will end up being about 1” higher than the ceiling (it is a little complicated – I cut the beam to make it fit). It is 14” deep x 3’ wide. I was originally going to get the Panasonic AE4000 as it should fit and then use the lens shift. Though started reading up on the HC4000 and with the 16” offset for a 100” screen, this could work out about perfect (picture would be 1’ below ceiling and 3’ off floor) and would save me money with possibly a sharper picture from the way it sounds.

This would only work if I could set it upside down on the shelf. I figured I would have to make some supports (perhaps somehow use the packaging that comes with it in the box?). Questions are, has anyone done this successfully and how? Do you think 14” is enough room for projector and cables? Do you need access to the buttons on top to set/focus the picture?

So I still am leaning towards the mits over the epson, so the only disadvantages I see are the fact that I may want to go with a 110" screen and I wont be able to work that with my ceiling height, see above posts. One of my other concerns is that the epson is much brighter, but I am only going to be able to swing a 106"and I think in my room with ambient light that should be plenty enough, any comments. The other concern is the uniformity issues that I have read about, are things better now, does mitts stand behind their warranty? Thanks in advance, I think I will run to a best buy to day and look at the projector, if they have any that is....

I think I will run to a best buy to day and look at the projector, if they have any that is....

Let me know what you find at BB, I have not seen the Mitsubishi there yet. I have been eying the 8350 myself, I saw it at BB the other day and with the no interest for 18 months it is very tempting. I would like to get the Mitsubishi, but am running into the same delima you are with an 8 ft ceiling. I wish they had made the lense shift a little less drastic. I can't have the screen 2 ft off the floor and I dont want to use keystone correction.

Hi All - I am building a shelf for a projector on top of a soffit which will end up being about 1 higher than the ceiling (it is a little complicated - I cut the beam to make it fit). It is 14 deep x 3' wide. I was originally going to get the Panasonic AE4000 as it should fit and then use the lens shift. Though started reading up on the HC4000 and with the 16 offset for a 100 screen, this could work out about perfect (picture would be 1' below ceiling and 3' off floor) and would save me money with possibly a sharper picture from the way it sounds.

This would only work if I could set it upside down on the shelf. I figured I would have to make some supports (perhaps somehow use the packaging that comes with it in the box?). Questions are, has anyone done this successfully and how? Do you think 14 is enough room for projector and cables? Do you need access to the buttons on top to set/focus the picture?

Thanks for any advice.

I don't know about the HC4000 specificly, but I rarely use the buttons on my projector. I do take the projector down once a month to clean it and the filter. Having a fixed mounting point makes it much easier to keep things alligned in my opinion. I would not want to have a make shift stand with the projector upside down on it and try to adjust the immage to hit the screen level and square. I'm sure it would be doable, but it would be a pain.

Hi All - I am building a shelf for a projector on top of a soffit which will end up being about 1 higher than the ceiling (it is a little complicated - I cut the beam to make it fit). It is 14 deep x 3' wide. I was originally going to get the Panasonic AE4000 as it should fit and then use the lens shift. Though started reading up on the HC4000 and with the 16 offset for a 100 screen, this could work out about perfect (picture would be 1' below ceiling and 3' off floor) and would save me money with possibly a sharper picture from the way it sounds.

This would only work if I could set it upside down on the shelf. I figured I would have to make some supports (perhaps somehow use the packaging that comes with it in the box?). Questions are, has anyone done this successfully and how? Do you think 14 is enough room for projector and cables? Do you need access to the buttons on top to set/focus the picture?

Thanks for any advice.

If I were you, I'd build a wooden support shaped like this:

Code:

__________________
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Drill 3 holes in the top piece that match the mounting holes on the bottom of the projector, and attach the projector to it upside-down with screws that you should be able to find in your local hardware store (hint: they're metric). The whole thing can then easily be set on a shelf.

Let me know what you find at BB, I have not seen the Mitsubishi there yet. I have been eying the 8350 myself, I saw it at BB the other day and with the no interest for 18 months it is very tempting. I would like to get the Mitsubishi, but am running into the same delima you are with an 8 ft ceiling. I wish they had made the lense shift a little less drastic. I can't have the screen 2 ft off the floor and I dont want to use keystone correction.

I just got back from BB and no HC4000, he couldn't even find them in the system, they did have a hc6800 setup and marked down, could get it for $1800 but it had like 1600 hours on it...looked good on a Stewart firehawk screen though..had him look up the epson 8350 and he couldnt find them either...but then I found 2 of them on the shelf...lol...I'm still leaning towards the hc4000 and probably going to talk to the projector place next week...

So there was some earlier reports of uniformity issues, anyone notice any thing lately?

I own the HC3200 but it has been away for repair for a month now. The deadline is on Wed 16th this week for either getting it back or a full refund. Looks like i'll be getting my money back or else i would have had it by now.

I was thinking of paying an extra 200 for the hc3800, does anyone think it would be a wise purchase if I spend even more money on the HC4000? Is it worth the extra £400 to step up from the HC3200? Really dont know which to go for.

I own the HC3200 but it has been away for repair for a month now. The deadline is on Wed 16th this week for either getting it back or a full refund. Looks like i'll be getting my money back or else i would have had it by now.

I was thinking of paying an extra 200 for the hc3800, does anyone think it would be a wise purchase if I spend even more money on the HC4000? Is it worth the extra £400 to step up from the HC3200? Really dont know which to go for.

Here is what I have read on projector reviews, you can both reviews there, it appears that the biggest step up between from the 3800 to the 4000 is the black levels since the 4000 uses the darkchip3 vs darkchip2....some other folks that actually have one may want to chime in...but that is what I have read.

I have not owned a projector in over three years. I started with an Infocus
X1 then moved to an IN72 and my last one was a HC1500. I am really excited about getting back into the swing with a new projector, only problem is I'm so funny about choosing one. I really like the HC4000 from what Iv'e read but I have seen many post regarding uniformity issues. I wonder if this is as I read and fades when the bulb settles in. I would love to hear from some of you that own this particular unit and what your experiences are. I had considered the Epson but I have never owned a LCD projector and have always been leary of them because of panel degredation and pixel alignment.

I would love to hear from some of you that own this particular unit and what your experiences are.

I have the HC4000, and while my opinion only represents experience with a single unit, I feel the uniformity issue may be overblown. I tried the tests others have said revel the non-uniformity, and yes you do see it. But I tried the same test on two other (DLP) projectors from other manufacturers and I saw a similar non-uniformity. And even after I knew what to look for, I never noticed any effect that I could see in normal viewing.

I imagine that you can produce other non real world test configurations that revel some amount of non-uniformity in almost any projector. The question is, what amount of variation is normal, and are these tests a good way to judge picture quality? The picture produced by my HC-4000 is superb during actual use. The picture quality has now moved my attention away from the projector itself, and to other factors such as my current viewing setup, my sound system, and my ability to obtain quality source material.

Hi All – I am building a shelf for a projector on top of a soffit which will end up being about 1” higher than the ceiling (it is a little complicated – I cut the beam to make it fit). It is 14” deep x 3’ wide. I was originally going to get the Panasonic AE4000 as it should fit and then use the lens shift. Though started reading up on the HC4000 and with the 16” offset for a 100” screen, this could work out about perfect (picture would be 1’ below ceiling and 3’ off floor) and would save me money with possibly a sharper picture from the way it sounds.

This would only work if I could set it upside down on the shelf. I figured I would have to make some supports (perhaps somehow use the packaging that comes with it in the box?). Questions are, has anyone done this successfully and how? Do you think 14” is enough room for projector and cables? Do you need access to the buttons on top to set/focus the picture?

Thanks for any advice.

I've shelf mounted DLP's similar to what vttom described... Takes about an hour and less then $20 on materials, provided you have a few tools...

Here is an example of a shelf mount on and HD1000, which is very similar in size to the HC4000...

Front view...

Side angle...

Bottom view...

Hardware...

The plate is 16" left to right x 14" front to rear 1/2" oak plywood, which is very rigid and doesn't warp or sag over time...

The legs are 1" dia x 4" long wooden dowels, screwed and glued to the plate using 14 x 1.5" oval head screws with the plate drilled to 1/4" then counter sunk on top, dowels pre-drilled to 13/64" x 1-3/4" deep...

The adjustable feet are 14 x 2" hex head screws with the bottom of the dowels pre-drilled to 13/64" 2-1/4" deep...

The rubber pads shown are placed on the shelf under adjustable feet to keep fan noise from being transmitted to the shelf, the adjustment in the feet is used level and square the image onto the screen...

The projector is mounted to the plate using M4-.7 x 40mm oval head screws with the mounting holes drilled to 5/32" and countersunk on top...

Nothing interferes with the airflow of the cooling fans, and access to the zoom, focus, *and buttons* can be gained by notching out the shelf directly under them... *I've never bothered with accessing the buttons myself*

Once completed, remove the projector and paint to suit...

I've also use this type mount to place the bottom of the projector to be much closer to the ceiling then any ceiling mount will allow...

I just got back from BB and no HC4000, he couldn't even find them in the system, they did have a hc6800 setup and marked down, could get it for $1800 but it had like 1600 hours on it...looked good on a Stewart firehawk screen though..had him look up the epson 8350 and he couldnt find them either...but then I found 2 of them on the shelf...lol...I'm still leaning towards the hc4000 and probably going to talk to the projector place next week...

So there was some earlier reports of uniformity issues, anyone notice any thing lately?

I have not seen nor heard of any uniformity complaints since the original ones in this thread...

Quote:

Originally Posted by bthorn9435

I have not owned a projector in over three years. I started with an Infocus
X1 then moved to an IN72 and my last one was a HC1500. I am really excited about getting back into the swing with a new projector, only problem is I'm so funny about choosing one. I really like the HC4000 from what Iv'e read but I have seen many post regarding uniformity issues. I wonder if this is as I read and fades when the bulb settles in. I would love to hear from some of you that own this particular unit and what your experiences are. I had considered the Epson but I have never owned a LCD projector and have always been leary of them because of panel degredation and pixel alignment.

Curious where the many posts you have seen are? I've only the ones in this thread and they are all from or in reference to only a couple of people's experiences... If there are others I would like see them also...

You also might throw in dust blobs on your list of reasons to be leary of LCD's

Quote:

Originally Posted by tsaksa

The picture produced by my HC-4000 is superb during actual use. The picture quality has now moved my attention away from the projector itself, and to other factors such as my current viewing setup, my sound system, and my ability to obtain quality source material.

YMMV

I also have the HC4000, serial 0002221, purchased Jan 31 from projector people... I have viewed and tried to see a non-uniformity in color and/or brightness from day one, and I nor anyone who has viewed my setup has seen it... Like tsaksa the HC4000 is the strength of my setup...

I just got back from BB and no HC4000, he couldn't even find them in the system, they did have a hc6800 setup and marked down, could get it for $1800 but it had like 1600 hours on it...looked good on a Stewart firehawk screen though..